Score:   1
Docket Number:   ND-CA  5:17-cr-00603
Case Name:   USA v. Chen et al
  Press Releases:
SAN FRANCISCO – Liang Chen, Donald Olgado, Wei-Yung Hsu, and Robert Ewald were charged for their respective roles in an alleged scheme to steal trade secrets from a Bay Area semiconductor chip equipment manufacturer, announced United States Attorney Brian J. Stretch and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett.  The charges were issued in an indictment handed down on November 30, 2017, by a federal grand jury.  

According to the indictment, the defendants were employed at a Silicon Valley-based semiconductor manufacturer as follows: Chen, 52, of Saratoga, Calif., was a corporate vice president and general manager of the alternative energy products division; Olgado, 54, of Palo Alto, was a managing director of engineering within the product business group; Hsu, 57, of San Jose, was a vice president and general manager within the semiconductor LED division; and Ewald, 60, of Aptos, was a director of the energy and environmental systems within the alternative energy products division. The indictment alleges that in September of 2012, while the defendants were still employed by the semiconductor equipment manufacturer, they conspired to steal their employer’s trade secrets and use them in a competing company to be based in the United States and the People’s Republic of China.

According to the indictment, the technology at issue was developed by the semiconductor equipment manufacturer through years of research and testing, and through millions of dollars in investment. The technology related to the high-volume manufacturing of semiconductor wafers to be used in lighting and electronic devices, such as flat screen televisions and smart phones.  The indictment explains that the production of the wafers is highly sophisticated and must occur under “clean room” conditions by a fully automated process controlled by computers.  The defendants allegedly downloaded information relating to this technology from their employer’s confidential internal engineering database, including over 16,000 drawings; shared plans in multiple emails describing their plans to use the technology in a new startup company; and attempted to recruit investors in order to fund the new startup which would operate in the United States and China.  In sum, each defendant was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832(a)(5), and eleven counts of possessing stolen trade secrets, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832(a)(3) & 2.  

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  The maximum sentence for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1832(a)(5) is 10 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  The maximum sentence for a violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1832(a)(3) & 2 is 10 years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.  

Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.  

The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on December 15, 2017, before the Honorable Susan van Keulen, United States Magistrate Judge.  

Assistant United States Attorney Susan Knight is prosecuting this case with assistance from Elise Etter. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

 

Docket (0 Docs):   https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Nsi0Cb3jslax0RYz6kWiGBcAE5Kplh9pYe-dthn_KqE
  Last Updated: 2024-01-25 08:40:10 UTC
Description: The fiscal year of the data file obtained from the AOUSC
Format: YYYY

Description: The code of the federal judicial circuit where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the federal judicial district where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: The code of the district office where the case was located
Format: A2

Description: Docket number assigned by the district to the case
Format: A7

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which cannot be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A unique number assigned to each defendant in a case which can be modified by the court
Format: A3

Description: A sequential number indicating whether a case is an original proceeding or a reopen
Format: N5

Description: Case type associated with the current defendant record
Format: A2

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, defendant number, and reopen sequence number
Format: A18

Description: A concatenation of district, office, docket number, case type, and reopen sequence number
Format: A15

Description: The status of the defendant as assigned by the AOUSC
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the fugitive status of a defendant
Format: A1

Description: The date upon which a defendant became a fugitive
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which a fugitive defendant was taken into custody
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date when a case was first docketed in the district court
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which proceedings in a case commenced on charges pending in the district court where the defendant appeared, or the date of the defendant’s felony-waiver of indictment
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code used to identify the nature of the proceeding
Format: N2

Description: The date when a defendant first appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: A code indicating the event by which a defendant appeared before a judicial officer in the district court where a charge was pending
Format: A2

Description: A code indicating the type of legal counsel assigned to a defendant
Format: N2

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE1
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE1
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE1
Format: A3

Description: The title and section of the U.S. Code applicable to the offense committed which carried the second highest severity
Format: A20

Description: A code indicating the level of offense associated with FTITLE2
Format: N2

Description: The four digit AO offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: The four digit D2 offense code associated with FTITLE2
Format: A4

Description: A code indicating the severity associated with FTITLE2
Format: A3

Description: The FIPS code used to indicate the county or parish where an offense was committed
Format: A5

Description: The date of the last action taken on the record
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which judicial proceedings before the court concluded
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the final sentence is recorded on the docket
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The date upon which the case was closed
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: The total fine imposed at sentencing for all offenses of which the defendant was convicted and a fine was imposed
Format: N8

Description: A count of defendants filed including inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed excluding inter-district transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings commenced
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants filed whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated including interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated excluding interdistrict transfers
Format: N1

Description: A count of original proceedings terminated
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants terminated whose proceedings commenced by reopen, remand, appeal, or retrial
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period including long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: A count of defendants pending as of the last day of the period excluding long term fugitives
Format: N1

Description: The source from which the data were loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: A10

Description: A sequential number indicating the iteration of the defendant record
Format: N2

Description: The date the record was loaded into the AOUSC’s NewSTATS database
Format: YYYYMMDD

Description: Statistical year ID label on data file obtained from the AOUSC which represents termination year
Format: YYYY

Data imported from FJC Integrated Database
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